Tamiya, first in quality around the world, said the TV ads of the 1980s. As arguably the world's finest and most popular brand for models, kits and RC cars, the red and blue stars have come to symbolise so much love, especially for those of us into cars and bikes. It made a big impression on me, with a Frog and Fox as my first two RC cars that taight me all about building cars, geometry and alignments, and everything from camber, castor and tow, to roll-centre, gear ratios, battery technology, electric motors, aerodynamics and so, so much more.
While the home of Tamiya Japan is a factory based in Shizuoka, about 2.5 hours south-west of Tokyo, the Tamiya Plamodel Factory is a retail shop in the heart of Tokyo, and a must-visit for any Tamiya fan.
And that's where I was last night, thanks to the very-Japanese weekday opening hours of 12pm-9pm. As a brand user and lover since the mid-1980s, I have a particular affinity with Tamiya's radio control models, made all the more remarkable by the fact that over the past decade or so, as Tamiya has re-released many of its RC cars first made in the 1980s, that are virtually identical to the ones released all those decades ago.
That in itself is simply wonderful. Imagine being able to buy a brand new 1985 Holden Commodore, Nissan Skyline or DMC DeLorean, and at a price that's basically the same - cheaper in most cases, considering inflation - and bring back all those childhood memories... or make new ones with and for a new generation.
So it was a slightly ethereal event to arrive at the Tamiya Plamodel Factory, in Shinbashi, Minato City, just a few minutes from Tokyo train station.
Over two levels, you're met by anything and everything Tamiya, from its iconic 1/24th scale car model plastic kits, to motorbikes, army and navy ships (from which Tamiya's origins began), and all manner of merchandise from shirts to pedometers and even Canned Yakitori, for around NZ$7.
Mini 4WDs are huge in Japan, small 1/32nd scale cars that run in a straight line on 2x AA batteries, and race on multi-lane tracks at venues. Like modern-day slot cars without the slot, there are small home track set-ups and seemingly endless amounts of hop-ups taking up quite a large proportion of the store - where there are even races held.
Down a flight of stairs is the home of Tamiya radio control, and it's here where nostalgia mixes old and new, with prices that are very, very appealing, even if the size of a typical RC car box limits tourist to one... at best.
From the classics like the Grasshopper (just NZ$80!), Hornet, Frog, Fox, Hot Shot, Boomerang, Monster Beetle, Wild One, Super Shot ($NZ$350) and more all sit on the shelves with prices almost half of what we'd pay locally. The latest and greatest is the Tamiya BBX, a retro-styled new buggy that's the current hero of the Tamiya RC range, at just NZ$400 - local NZ shops list it at $800 (remembering they also have to pay shipping, import duties, customs, GST and make a profit).
With aisles and shelves stocked full of spares, wheels, hop-ups, paints, spare bodies and virtually anything and everything Tamiya, it's a nirvana wonderland of the brand that's an essential stop for anyone into RC cars, or model cars, or even just cars. Now, I have a spare few hours on Monday. Let me check how close the Yokomo and Kyosho stores are...
